Some Plum residents told to boil water after discovery of E. coli bacteria

Residents of Plum’s Regency Park neighborhood should boil their water before use because it might be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.

Residents in the neighborhood found a state Department of Environmental Protection form contained within Plum Borough Municipal Authority envelopes left at their homes Monday.

According to the letter, E. coli bacteria was found in the water supply over the weekend.

About 700 homes in the neighborhood bounded by Penn Hills, Plum Creek, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Saltsburg Road received the warning. The presence of E. coli bacteria shows the water could be contaminated with human or animal wastes.

“These bacteria can make you sick and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems,” the letter states.

The letter urges residents to not drink the water without boiling for one minute first. Boiled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation until further notice, according to the letter.

“We are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the source of the contamination and will implement corrective actions to ensure that our water supplies are protected against contamination,” text added to the form letter states.

Authority Manager Howard Theis told TribLive that a routine monthly sample taken by the authority in Regency Park Thursday came back positive for E. coli Friday. A followup sample taken Friday came back positive Saturday.

After the borough reported that finding as required to the DEP on Saturday, the agency told the authority to complete an assessment of its entire system to determine if corrective actions were necessary, DEP spokeswoman Lauren Camarda said.

“After further discussion this morning, DEP required the authority to issue the public notice and boil water advisory,” she said.

No other areas of Plum are affected, Theis said.

“The Regency Park neighborhood is at the end of Plum Borough Municipal Authority’s distribution system, so the boil water advisory is limited to this area,” Camarda said.

The samples were collected at a station in the 500 block of Millers Lane in Regency Park. Random samples were taken from homes in the neighborhood, and none came back positive, Theis said.

Theis believes the issue might be at the sample station itself, and he said the authority will no longer use it.

There have been no reports of illnesses or sickness, Theis said. Camarda said the DEP is unaware of reports of any illnesses.

According to Camarda, samples taken Sunday came back negative for E. coli bacteria, as did samples taken at points upstream and downstream in the distribution system.

“State environmental regulations require negative samples on two consecutive days, therefore, the earliest the advisory could be lifted is tomorrow, Tuesday, June 11,” she said.

Residents will be notified when tests show no bacteria and water no longer needs to be boiled, the authority said.